"Sorry for the wait."
"Thanks for the hard work. Oh~ stir-fried noodles for lunch today!"
At lunchtime, when Kazuma Kiryuu brought out a large plate of stir-fried noodles and returned to the hall with the Kotegawa sisters, the Kotegawa shop owner and the others also came to the dining table and sat down.
"Well then, let's eat!"
"This is delicious! Did Senpai make this?" Imamura Kohei took a bite of the stir-fried noodles and his eyes lit up.
Hearing this, Nanaka smiled and replied, "Really? Thank you for the compliment."
"Wow~ sunny-side up eggs!" exclaimed Tokita Shinji in surprise.
"Kazuma helped with the fried eggs," Nanaka said.
As soon as her words fell, almost everyone at the table turned their surprised gazes toward Kazuma Kiryuu.
"So it was you who fried the eggs? I had no idea earlier. I thought you were just helping out with minor tasks."
Imamura Kohei looked at Kazuma Kiryuu, who was sitting beside him, his voice filled with surprise.
"Not bad, but the stir-fried noodles made by the senior were even better."
Kazuma Kiryuu slurped his noodles, casually brushing off Imamura Kohei comment while also taking the opportunity to praise Nanaka cooking skills.
After all, when you're trying to win over a girl, there's no shame in flattery.
Beside them, Kitahara Iori, hearing Kazuma Kiryuu words, seemed to suddenly think of something. He shifted his gaze from the fried eggs in front of him to Chisa, who was sitting next to Nanaka, and asked curiously
"So, what did Chisa help with?"
As soon as he said this, Kazuma Kiryuu immediately looked at Kitahara Iori in shock, then quickly turned her gaze to Kotegawa Chisa.
Sure enough, Chisa, who had been unexpectedly brought into the conversation, was hanging her head low, her right hand gripping her chopsticks tightly.
Exchanging a glance with Kohei, Kazuma silently gave Iori a thumbs-up, thinking to himself,
*Good job, buddy. You really know how to keep a conversation going. When I marry the kotegawa sisters in the future, I'll definitely give you a big red envelope!*
"By the way, do you guys have any plans before tonight?" Kotobuki chimed in at the right moment, steering the conversation in a different direction.
Kazuma and the other two exchanged glances, then looked at Kotobuki and the others with questioning eyes.
"Well, since today diving activity was canceled, we were wondering if you had anything planned before tonight's drinking party," Tokita Shinji explained.
"I won't be attending the drinking party," Kitahara Iori declared firmly without hesitation.
Although he really wanted to mess with Kazuma, today was definitely not the day for it, as he was still recovering from his hangover.
If he went out drinking with Tokita Shinji and the others tonight, he was sure that if he went to the hospital to check his blood, they'd find nothing but pure alcohol in his veins.
"How dare you skip drinking! What kind of club do you think you joined, kid?!" Tokita Shinji was furious his face turn monstrous.
If he hadn't been sitting across from Kitahara Iori, he would have grabbed the latter by the collar and shouted in his face.
"Huh? Isn't it the diving club?"
"What about you, Kohei?" Kotobuki Ryuujiro, now with a menacing look in his eyes, turned his gaze to Imamura Kohei.
"Uh, well, I have something to do tonight, so..." Imamura Kohei stammered nervously.
Halfway through his sentence, his eyes inadvertently fell on Kazuma, and an idea struck him.
"Let Kazuma go to the drinking party with you seniors. He definitely has nothing to do tonight."
As he made the suggestion, Imamura Kohei also shot a glance at Kitahara Iori.
Kitahara Iori immediately caught on and quickly chimed in, "Yeah, yeah, let Kazuma go. He left so early yesterday, and Kohei and I are still recovering from our hangovers."
[Nice one, Kohei. Well played!]
[No big deal. (Thumbs up)]
The two of them exchanged knowing glances.
Kazuma "?"
So, you two are teaming up to mess with me, huh?
At that moment, the gazes of the two "beastly seniors" also landed on Kazuma.
"Alright then, Kazuma will come with us tonight."
"Oh, okay," replied Kazuma Kiryuu.
It wasn't that he really wanted to agree, but the way Tokita Shinji had spoken was more of a statement than a request. Clearly, there was no escaping it today.
Satisfied with Kazuma compliant response, Tokita Shinji and the others nodded slightly and stood up, saying:
"Kazuma, are you done eating? If so, come help us pack up the diving gear."
"Coming."
As he spoke, Kazuma also put down his chopsticks and got up to follow Tokita and the others to tidy up the equipment.
However, just as he took a few steps, he heard two annoying voices drifting from behind.
"Ah, sorry about this, Kazuma-kun. Tonight, you'll have to represent us at the drinking session."
"That's right, Kazuma-san. You'd better bring your A-game tonight. Don't let the Three Musketeers down!"
Kazuma: "!"
Those two jerks!
He didn't even need to look back to know that Iori and Kohei were surely wearing their smug, triumphant expressions right now.
Clenching his fists, Kazuma decided to let it go for now, resigning himself to the fact that the situation was already set in stone. He'd deal with those two troublemakers later.
Just you wait. Revenge is best served cold.
"By the way, senpai, which club are we drinking with tonight?"
Picking up two sets of diving equipment, Kazuma inquired about the specifics of tonight's party.
"Which club? Didn't we tell you we're having an exchange event with Oumi Women's University tonight?" Kotobuki Ryuujiro asked in surprise.
"Oumi Women's University?"
Kazuma was momentarily stunned, then grinned from ear to ear.
"So, there'll be a lot of girls coming, right?"
"Of course."
"..."
"Did they just say Oumi Women's University?"
As Kazuma and the others walked out of the hall, Kitahara Iori, who had been silent for a while, turned to Imamura Kohei, who also looked frozen.
Imamura Kohei nodded stiffly, his voice hoarse. "If I heard correctly, yes."
...
Meanwhile, after putting away the diving gear, on their way back to the hall, Tokita Shinji brought up the topic again.
"Back to the same question—do you have any plans before drinking tonight?"
"Not really. My original plan for today was to accompany the guests diving," Kotobuki said, glancing at Kazuma. "What about you,Kazuma?"
"Nothing either," Kazuma replied immediately.
If it were the past, he might have sourly mentioned going on a date with his girlfriends, but now he truly had no plans.
Of course, if possible, he'd love to spend time with the Kotegawa sisters to boost their affection.
"Is that so? But before drinking, we should probably do something," Tokita Shinji said.
"True. After all, it's an exchange event with Oumi Women's University. We can't just show up drunk like usual—"
"SENPAI! I WANT TO GO DRINKING WITH YOU GUYS TONIGHT!"